Paul Bosvelt (, born 26 March 1970) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who is technical director of Go Ahead Eagles.
As a player he was a midfielder who notably played in the Eredivisie for FC Twente and Feyenoord and in the Premier League for Manchester City. He also had spells with Go Ahead Eagles and SC Heerenveen. He was capped 24 times by Netherlands.
As a coach he returned to Go Ahead Eagles as assistant manager, later returning to FC Twente as under-17 manager and a spell as Netherlands U21 assistant coach.
Club career Bosvelt went on to develop a reputation as a "hard-tackling midfielder" at de Kuip, making 167 appearances, during which he led Feyenoord to the league title in 1999 and the UEFA Cup in 2002.
During the game against Manchester United at home, on 5 November 1997, for the Champions League, which United eventually won 1–3, he tackled Denis Irwin from behind so "ferociously" that he almost broke the Irishman's leg. Irwin stayed off the field for several weeks to recover from the injury and was unable to join Ireland's national team. A few days after the game, United made public the fact that Bosvelt sent a fax to Irwin at Old Trafford, soon after the incident, in which he said that he "regretted making the tackle."
In 2003, Bosvelt joined Manchester City. After two seasons there, he returned to the Netherlands and finished his career playing for SC Heerenveen.
Bosvelt retired from football on 13 May 2007, after Heerenveen's 4–0 defeat by Ajax. He had played a total number of 470 games in both Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie. In December 2008 it was confirmed, that Bosvelt from 1 January 2009 would become the new assistant coach of Go Ahead Eagles.Bosvelt wordt assistent-trainer bij Go Ahead Eagles, vi.nl, 15 December 2008
International career Three days after his thirtieth birthday, Bosvelt made his debut for the Netherlands on 29 March 2000 in a friendly match against Belgium, he went on to earn a total of 24 caps, scoring no goals.Intl career stats - Ons Oranje He played in Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. During Euro 2000, he reached the semi-final with Netherlands. Bosvelt missed an important penalty kick in the penalty shootout in the semi-finals, which led to a 3–1 defeat against Italy. At Euro 2004 Bosvelt was initially named on the stand-by list, but was then added to the squad after Mark van Bommel withdrew through injury. Bosvelt came on as a substitute for Arjen Robben in the group game against the Czech Republic. The Netherlands were winning 2-1 when Bosvelt was introduced but ultimately lost 3-2. Dick Advocaat's decision to sub Bosvelt on in place of Robben was considered a turning point in the match and was widely criticised in the Dutch media. Bosvelt did not feature again for the Netherlands.
Coaching career After his contract in Go Ahead Eagles, he joined FC Twente in June 2012 as an assistant coach for the club's U19s.Bosvelt aan de slag bij FC Twente, nu.nl, 29 June 2012 Two years later, in June 2014, he took charge of Twente's U17s. Beside that, he was also appointed assistant coach for the Dutch U21 national team.Bosvelt wordt assistent-trainer van Jong Oranje, maar blijft ook bij Twente B1, rtvoost.nl, 20 July 2015Paul Bosvelt assistent-trainer bij Jong Oranje, tubantia.nl, 20 July 2015
In summer 2016, Bosvelt was named manager of Jong FC Twente next to his position as an assistant for the Dutch U-21 national team.Bosvelt trainer Jong FC Twente, rijnmond.nl, 7 June 2016 However, he ended the season with relegation from the Tweede DivisieBosvelt degradeert met jong FC Twente, tubantia.nl, 8 April 2017 and was fired at the end of the season.FC Twente stopt na dit seizoen met beloftentrainer Bosvelt, fcupdate.nl, 30 March 2017
In December 2017, Bosvelt returned to Go Ahead Eagles and was hired as technical advisor,Van Staa maakt seizoen af als trainer Go Ahead, Bosvelt technisch adviseur, nu.nl, 5 December 2017 still next to his position on the Dutch U-21 national team, which he, however, left at the end of August 2018.HENDRIE KRÜZEN VERVANGT PAUL BOSVELT BIJ JONG ORANJE, onsoranje.nl, 29 August 2018
In April 2018, Bosvelt was hired in a new role at Go Ahead Eagles: he was announced as the new technical director.OPEN BRIEF: HOME OF FOOTBALL, ga-eagles.nl, 13 April 2018 In November 2021, he signed a new contract with Go Ahead Eagles until June 2024.VERBINTENISSEN PAUL BOSVELT EN JAN WILLEM VAN DOP MET TWEE JAAR VERLENGD, ga-eagles.nl, 11 November 2021
Honours Feyenoord Eredivisie: 1998–99 Johan Cruyff Shield: 1999 UEFA Cup: 2001–02
References
External links
Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net